The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Cornus plant, commercially produced as an ornamental shrub, botanically known as Cornus sericea and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Neil Z’.
The new Cornus plant is a naturally-occurring branch mutation of an unnamed selection of Cornus sericea (also known as Cornus stolonifera), not patented. The new Cornus plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor from within a population of plants of the unnamed selection in a controlled outdoor nursery environment in Cincinnati, Ohio in June, 2003.
Asexual reproduction of the new Cornus plant by softwood cuttings in a controlled environment in Cincinnati, Ohio since June, 2008 has shown that the unique features of this new Cornus plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.